The use of ceiling mounted fans, also referred to as paddle fans, is popular both in summer and in winter to circulate the air in a home or commercial environment to improve the comfort of individuals in that environment. There are two basic principles involving the use of ceiling fans:                (1) moving the air in a room averages the temperature between the warm air that ordinarily rises to the ceiling and cooler air that remains at a lower level, and        (2) improving the air flow to more effectively cool or warm people in the room.        
The ceiling fan comes into contact with a large volume of air while performing its functions, and with that air, a quantity of particles that are suspended in the air. These particles can be dust, soot, smoke or industrial residue, among others. In some cases the particles are merely a nuisance, but in others, the particles can cause eye and/or skin irritation, illness or contamination of supposedly clean work areas.
This airborne particle problem has been addressed several times in the past with respect to fans, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,721 for a Room Air Cleaner; U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,573 for Filtering Means For Ceiling Fan Blades; U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,650 for a Ceiling Fan Filter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,543 for an Air Filtering System; U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,565 for a Method Of Securing A Filter Element To A Blade Of A Fan; U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,721 for a Ceiling Fan Filter; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,131 for a Fan Air Cleaner.
In particular, the '650 patent involves an invention with a filter housing that is configured for being connected to a leading edge of a ceiling fan blade. The filter housing has an air entrance and an air exit and air channeling vanes for guiding air into the housing. An air filtering medium is placed within the housing and the housing is mounted to reside above the leading edge of a ceiling fan blade. While the '650 patent provides certain of the characteristics of the present invention, the present invention Fan Mounted Air Purifier provides distinguishing features that achieve a simpler and more effective means for removal of particles from the air than disclosed in the prior art.